Media must take more care in reporting on market: SEBI

02 January 2012

The media should exercise more "self-regulation" when it comes to writing about the stock market, Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman U K Sinha has said.

The market regulator plans to have ''a series of interactions with media personnel on the dos and don'ts in the industry. They should exchange notes (with SEBI) on what is happening in the industry and how to educate people. There is a need to educate the public," agency reports from Chennai quoted Sinha as saying.

Current SEBI rules require media companies to disclose their interests or shareholding in listed companies while writing on them. Similarly, publicly traded firms are required to disclose details about their relationships with media companies.

In August 2010, SEBI made it mandatory for media groups to disclose details about private treaties for a stake in listed companies in exchange for promoting their brands.

The regulator had also made it compulsory for media houses to disclose in news reports their stakes in companies being written about.